Prentice says new climate plan will be beefed-up version of existing blueprint

Jim Prentice says a new climate change plan from a re-elected Tory government will be an improved version of Alberta’s existing, often-criticized, framework.

In an interview with the Herald, the Progressive Conservative leader ruled out a British Columbia-style carbon tax that applies to consumers, while reiterating his opposition to the cap-and-trade system advocated by Ontario and Quebec.

Prentice said the province’s current system — with large industrial polluters paying $15 per tonne on greenhouse gas emissions past a certain target — makes the most sense given the footprint of the oilsands.

“The controversial source of emissions in Alberta is the energy sector, we all know that,” the premier said last week, adding that the new plan will be “fine-tuned” from the existing model.

“The best way to deal with industrial emissions and reduce emissions is through regulatory action.”

On Friday, Environment Canada released its latest emissions inventory, which shows 726 megatonnes of emissions in the country in 2013 — up 1.5 per cent from a year earlier — with Alberta responsible for 267 megatonnes.

The PC government has pledged to release its new climate change plan this year, but didn’t put it out before Prentice called the provincial election for May 5.

Prentice has promised to meet the province’s existing target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 megatonnes per year by 2020 with the new plan, but he is not releasing details at this point.

The government has previously acknowledged missing its 2010 climate change goals and its current emissions framework — introduced in 2008 under former premier Ed Stelmach — has drawn fire for setting the levy and the reduction threshold too low.

Facilities that emit more than 100,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year must reduce emissions intensity by 12 per cent below a baseline. Those that don’t either must improve their operations, buy carbon offsets or pay $15 a tonne into a provincial environmental fund.

Prentice has ruled out increasing the levy while energy companies grapple with low oil prices.

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said in a statement Sunday that if elected, he would maintain the province’s current $15 carbon levy while moving away from “wasteful and ineffective elements of the current PC climate change strategy.”

Jean is also calling for the creation of natural gas and renewable energy strategies.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Friday there needs to be “hard conversations” about how Alberta can reduce its emissions, adding that the starting point includes strategies to bolster energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.

She said Prentice has been “running” from the issue by delaying the Tory plan.

“Our record on climate change is rife with lots of empty promises, a whole bunch of press releases and no action,” said Notley.

Both Green party Leader Janet Keeping and Liberal Leader David Swann also accused Prentice of not wanting to debate the issue during the campaign, opting to release it in June.

“The problem is that we are leaders in carbon emissions and we are laggards in managing carbon emissions in this province,” said Swann.

“The right thing to do would be to give Albertans the rough outline of where the (PC) thinking is,” Keeping added.

The Liberals want to put a price on carbon while the Greens have called for a carbon tax similar to British Columbia’s, which is broadly applied to most fuels and emissions at a rate equivalent to $30 per tonne.

Prentice, however, said a carbon tax would not reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the oilsands and would simply “be another tax that would take money out of jobs and investment.”

Alberta’s party leaders have seemingly rejected plans for a cap-and-trade system around emissions, despite Ontario and Quebec agreeing to partner in such a framework last week.

As federal environment minister under Stephen Harper, Prentice in 2009 discussed with the Alberta government the prospect of the province implementing a cap-and-trade system, which sees businesses buy and sell credits under an emissions quota.

But Prentice said this week the federal Conservative government was only considering the idea because it appeared the United States was heading in that direction under the then-new Obama administration.

“I became convinced through that analysis … that the unintended consequences of cap-and-trade are so significant that it’s not the policy we should use,” he said.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

One month into building a new political party and MLA Derek Fildebrandt is discovering it’s not as easy at it looks. Not that building a new party has ever looked easy. Except perhaps to Fildebrandt who announced last month he was interim leader of the Freedom Conservative Party. I’m not sure if he expected thankful voters to stampede to his door, hoist him up in their thankful arms and parade him around the town square. Or maybe he at least expected some press coverage that didn’t in some way mock his checkered political past. He got neither.